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Organization
The site is organized under five main headings, easily accessible from the navigation bar: Prologue, Building a Force, Wartime, Postwar Period and Epilogue. The subheadings for each group of films are indicated in parentheses below.
- Prologue
Essays, photos and paintings that explain how the project got started, how the Great War began and how images of the war were captured (movies, photographs, sketches, paintings), along with suggestions for research sources. - Building a Force (Mobilization, Training)
Films shot between 1915 and 1917 that document the emergence of a Canadian military force, showing the mobilization of troops in Canada and their training in Europe. - Wartime (Support, Battles, Aviation, Behind the Lines)
Films showing the Canadian Expeditionary Force throughout the battles, with footage shot between 1915 and 1918 of units assigned to support military objectives, troops engaged in battle, pilots and aircraft in action, and soldiers posted behind the front lines. - Postwar Period (After the Armistice, Return to Canada)
Footage of Canadian troops just after the armistice, in November and December 1918, and the return of soldiers to Canada in early 1919. - Epilogue
Essays, photos and paintings relating to postwar Europe, the affirmation of Canada as an independent nation and what became of soldiers after the war.
Films
Each film is represented by a square on the navigation bar. To watch a film, click on the square. You can select the kind of player you want to use by clicking on My Preferences, just above the viewing window. The title, description, running time, year and producer of each film are given.
Contextual Elements
Background materials on the films in the Canadian Expeditionary Force collection are provided under different tabs: Pieces of History, Visuals and Other Materials.
- Pieces of History
One or more essays by historians on the subject of the film, plus a brief biography of each author and a selected bibliography. Essays may be accompanied by photos, sketches, posters or paintings. - Visuals
Photos, sketches, posters, newspaper cuttings, paintings, poems, letters, pages from diaries and other primary sources directly related to film content. - Other Materials
Additional information on the subject of the film.
Teaching Materials
Each film in the collection is accompanied by teaching notes directly related to the film's content that may be used in class without much preparation. They can be found under the Teaching Materials tab on the right-hand side of the viewing window.
Search
You can do a keyword search of Films, Historians’ Essays, Visuals, Other Materials and Teaching Materials. To display a complete list of all films, historians’ essays, visuals, other materials or teaching materials, click on Display All.